Dead State - Update #14, New Tier

We’re announcing a new tier – for $21 (a $6 upgrade from the basic tier) – we will give you access to developer updates and videos. Everyone above $21 already – don’t worry, you’re covered. What might you find in the developer updates?

Originally Posted by ChienAboyeur
So X-Com is a RPG? reads more like a skirmish/war game.

Who in the hell is talking about x-com?

I said its an RPG WITH extra stuff like base construction and turn based combat.

The main character and the allies NPCs all have stat points, perks, character evolution, etc. Please don't get me started on the definition of "RPG" because everyone has their own opinion and not even the industry as a whole agrees on a firm definition of the genre.

Brian Mitsoda's most known work is Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines, which ia dialogue-heavy and he is credited for his writing. Both Mr. and Mrs. Mitsoda have lit backgrounds. In fact, "writer" type of the designers are quite popular in Kickstarters - Wasteland 2, Double Fine Adventure, for example, which is natural considering the dominance of graphics and action gameplays in the major game market. In Mitsoda's case, he is just not as famous as Avellone and Schaefer.

If you are interested in dialogue-heavy RPG by professional writers with turn-based combat format i.e. "original Fallout model", you may find it worth your money.

Originally Posted by KnightPT
The main character and the allies NPCs all have stat points, perks, character evolution, etc. Please don't get me started on the definition of "RPG" because everyone has their own opinion and not even the industry as a whole agrees on a firm definition of the genre.

Same as usual. So a game with characters and allies with stats points, perks and character evolution is a RPG.

Originally Posted by ChienAboyeur
Same as usual. So a game with characters and allies with stats points, perks and character evolution is a RPG.

You are just distorting words to bash everything, ofc the game is not just that in the RPG portion of it, nor an RPG is just that.

But, If I lose 5 minutes on google, i can find at least 100 diferent ways to define an RPG, ranging from industry "experts" with lots of theoretical and phylosofical ideas to "hardcore fans from 15 years ago games swearing only them know true RPGs" up to "Diablo 3 addicts", all stating they know the true meaning of an RPG game and everyone with a diferent opinion.

The game is not out yet, its not even in alpha, the developers state it will be an RPG, i hope its at least good enough to what i define an RPG.

Originally Posted by ChienAboyeur
I am much more interested in the survival mechanics.

And the survival mechanics are tied to the dialogues under the theme of human condition, which is roughly based on what Brian Mitsoda experienced during his own experience in Hurricane Katrina. The mechanic also opens up various possible paths to develop the story through PC-NPC interactions. In fact, any NPC can be killed when it comes to the openness of the story.

In any case, as long as you are interested in form any aspect and are willing to support the project, we are on the same boat. I'm just writing this in order to tell that the game is not either only about combat/survival mechanic or pre-made/given story but that they are parts of whole the concept to those who haven't checked it out yet.

Originally Posted by Dusk
And the survival mechanics are tied to the dialogues under the theme of human condition, which is roughly based on what Brian Mitsoda experienced during his own experience in Hurricane Katrina. The mechanic also opens up various possible paths to develop the story through PC-NPC interactions. In fact, any NPC can be killed when it comes to the openness of the story.

In any case, as long as you are interested in form any aspect and are willing to support the project, we are on the same boat. I'm just writing this in order to tell that the game is not either only about combat/survival mechanic or pre-made/given story but that they are parts of whole the concept to those who haven't checked it out yet.

It brings no light. Survival might be the central focus of a game with a story relation supporting survival as the main focus.

Is delivering a survival experience the primary goal of the game or is delivering a story about survival the primary goal? Will the story support the survival mechanics or will the survival mechanics support the story? Which one is going to be subordinated to the other?

People who fund one of the alternatives can not be on the same boat but they can be wrongly led to think they are on the same boat by keeping them in the dark. Makes the boat bigger than it is actually.

Originally Posted by KnightPT
But, If I lose 5 minutes on google, i can find at least 100 diferent ways to define an RPG, ranging from industry "experts" with lots of theoretical and phylosofical ideas to "hardcore fans from 15 years ago games swearing only them know true RPGs" up to "Diablo 3 addicts", all stating they know the true meaning of an RPG game and everyone with a diferent opinion.

You could find anything that people are ready to buy with a label "RPG" on.

By same standards, one could find rhino's powder in many things that are not actually rhino's powder.

Originally Posted by Maylander
It's fairly obvious what KnightPT is referring to - it's an RPG + various features. For example NWN2 is an RPG, but with a bit of castle building and so on thrown into the mix.

There is no exclusion between RPG and castle building. Stating features as if they were somehow alien to a genre etc

Originally Posted by ChienAboyeur
It brings no light. Survival might be the central focus of a game with a story relation supporting survival as the main focus.

Survival is the main theme, which will be experienced through both game mechanics such as combat/survival mechanics and content such as PC-NPC dialogues/illustrations (How should it be experienced through these "devices" in a game?). You wrote specifically "survival mechanics" in your comment, thus, I replied that mechanics and content complement each other. Here, somehow, you are mixing "mechanics" and "theme" although the word is clearly written in the post I referred to. Also, if you check out the info, you will find the diversity of characterization of NPCs and dialogues are one of the focuses of the project as well as turn-based combat mechanisms.

In any case, if anybody has any doubt on my comments or any other person's comments here, he is free to check it out by himself. In the forum and/or Kickstarter page, he can check it by himself since the info is pretty open.

Originally Posted by Lemonhead
I really hope hope they reach the 300k city area tier. That would be amazing.

<19.000 to go with 15 hours left. It's still possible if they get some new backers and if people upgrade their pledges (it's just $2 per backer, if everyone would upgrade).
I guess I'll upgrade from $40 to $50 now. I really whish I could do the Splendid Box, but my wife would kill me…
So dear Watchers and Lurkers - check it out if you haven't!

Originally Posted by Dusk
Survival is the main theme, which will be experienced through both game mechanics such as combat/survival mechanics and content such as PC-NPC dialogues/illustrations (How should it be experienced through these "devices" in a game?). You wrote specifically "survival mechanics" in your comment, thus, I replied that mechanics and content complement each other. Here, somehow, you are mixing "mechanics" and "theme" although the word is clearly written in the post I referred to. Also, if you check out the info, you will find the diversity of characterization of NPCs and dialogues are one of the focuses of the project as well as turn-based combat mechanisms.

In any case, if anybody has any doubt on my comments or any other person's comments here, he is free to check it out by himself. In the forum and/or Kickstarter page, he can check it by himself since the info is pretty open.

I wrote survival mechanics because it is part of the vocabulary used to depict the game. Here for one example among othershttp://www.vg247.com/2012/06/07/troi…tarter-effort/
And second point, you wrote that survival mechanics are tied to dialogues under the theme of human condition.

And later, you wrote that survival is the main theme.

Human condition can be one of survival. It can be not altogether. I mixed nothing here. I could not have guessed that you would substitute the theme of human condition with the theme of survival in a later post.

More on that, it is irrelevant: a theme does little to determine a game experience.

The theme being about survival is not enough to deliver a gameplay supporting a survival experience.

Game mechanics are the primary content of a game. Any game. It brings no light to write that mechanics and content complement each other.

A story, a setting whose theme is survival is not enough to deliver a game experience of survival. A game whose theme is survival and featuring no survival mechanics is unlikely to deliver a survival experience.

Games are a second hand experience through an avatar. Emerging an avatar into a world struggling for survival without applying any survival mechanics delivers no survival experience.

All this to be back to the starting point: which one is subordinated to the other? The story? The survival mechanics?

Telling that the theme is survival solves nothing. Every game set in survival settings has survival as theme, it does not make it a game delivering a survival experience.

And people wishing for a survival game are not in the same boat as people wanting a game set in a surviving world.

The PC RPG features tactical turn-based combat, survival mechanics, a morale-based relationship system with gameplay effects, and several other features designed to part me from all of my money as soon as possible.

In the article, "survival mechanics" is written as a part of the game component unlike you, who seem to try to put survival mechanics above anything else. So, it doesn't work to strengthen your point but mine.

Originally Posted by ChienAboyeur
And second point, you wrote that survival mechanics are tied to dialogues under the theme of human condition.

And later, you wrote that survival is the main theme.

Well, it's just the subject-verb relationship. Who would survive? Reptiles? No, the theme is human survival. Hence, the dialogues play an important part of the game experience, combined with other mechanics.

After that, I don't follow your logic at all - even if it existed at all. In any case, at least, it worked as keep the thread bumped, hopefully attracting even a slight attention, which is, actually, my main purpose here.

Originally Posted by GhanBuriGhan
<19.000 to go with 15 hours left. It's still possible if they get some new backers and if people upgrade their pledges (it's just $2 per backer, if everyone would upgrade).
I guess I'll upgrade from $40 to $50 now. I really whish I could do the Splendid Box, but my wife would kill me…
So dear Watchers and Lurkers - check it out if you haven't!